MATH IN NATURE

Leonardo Fibonnacci
-Italian mathematician who developed the Fibonacci sequence.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

OEIS numbers 5 A047704 5, 12, 19, 26, 31, 33, 38, 40, 45, ...
1 A000578 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, ... 6 A046040 6, 13, 20, 34, 39, 41, 46, 48, 53, ...
2 A003325 2, 9, 16, 28, 35, 54, 65, 72, 91, ... 7 A018890 7, 14, 21, 42, 47, 49, 61, 77, ...
3 A047702 3, 10, 17, 24, 29, 36, 43, 55, 62, ... 8 A018889 15, 22, 50, 114, 167, 175, 186, ...
4 A047703 4, 11, 18, 25, 30, 32, 37, 44, 51, ... 9 A018888 23, 239
 PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES
George Polya
- Hungarian mathematician
- Made fundamental contributions to combinations, number theory, numerical analysis,
and probability theory.
- Also noted for his work in heuristics and mathematics education
Heuristics
- Greek: find or discover
- Experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery that gives a
solution which is not guaranteed to be optimal
- It is used to speed up the process of finding solution via mental shortcuts
- Example: rule of thumb, educated guess, common sense, stereotyping
Polya’s Problem Solving Techniques
- 1945 – published the book How to Solve It which quickly became his most prized
publication
- sold over million copies and translated into 17 languages
He identifies the four basic principles of problem solving:

1. Understand the problem

 Do you understand all the words used in stating the problem?
 What are you asked to find or show?
 Can you restate the problem in your own words?
 Can you think of a picture or diagram that might help you understand the problem?
 Is there enough information to enable you to find a solution?
2. Devise a plan
 There are many reasonable ways to solve problems.
 The skill lies in choosing an appropriate strategy.
  This best learned by solving many problems. You will find choosing a strategy
increasingly easy.
 (You are going to create a list of strategies in this session).
3. Carry out the plan
 This step is usually easier than devising the plan. In general, all you need is care
and patience, given that you have the necessary skills.
 Persist with the plan that you have chosen.
 If it continues not to work discard it and choose another. Don't be misled, this is
how mathematics is done, even by professionals.
4. Look back
 Much can be gained by taking the time to reflect and look back at what you have
done, what worked, and what didn't.
 Doing this will enable you to predict what strategy to use to solve future problems.
Sample teaching strategies
1. Relay math tasks- fastest correct answers
2. Using props for context – containers for volume, Molecular models for 3D geometry
3. Teach the teacher – teach your peers – develop an example and demonstrate in groups
– student’s choice of area within current topic
4. Creating checklists / templates / how to do strategies through student centered
discussion
5. Role play: You are a …. Explain this concept / graph / diagram – very effective in literacy
around data and graphing.
6. Case studies – problem solving and applying the skills in a discipline based context.
9 PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
1. Look for the important words in the 5. Use a drawing
question 6. Work backwards
2. Look for a pattern 7. Try an easier problem
3. Have a go 8. Make a model
4. Use a table or a chart 9. Think logically
PROBLEM SOLVING STRATEGIES
• Guess and check • Use a model

• Look for a pattern • Act it out

• Make an orderly list • Consider special cases

• Draw a picture • Work backwards

• Eliminate possibilities • Use direct reasoning

• Solve a simpler problem • Use a formula

• Use symmetry • Solve an equation

• Be ingenious
1. Guess and Check
- to guess a solution and then plug the guess back into the problem to see if you get the
correct answer. If the answer is too big or too small, make another guess that will get
you closer to the goal, and continue guessing until you arrive at the correct solution.
Example: The four digit number 3AA1 is divisible by 9. Find the value of A.
3 5 5 1 ÷ 9 = 394.56
3 6 6 1 ÷ 9 = 406.76
3 7 7 1 ÷ 9 = 419
7 is the value of A

2. Work Backwards
- The “Work Backward” method works well for problems where a series of operations is
done on an unknown number and you’re only given the result. To use this method, start
with the result and apply the operations in reverse order until you find the starting
number.
Example: Jack is 35 years younger than Karen. Frank is half of Jack’s age. Jennifer is 17
years older than Frank. If Jennifer is 35 years old, how old is Karen?
35 years old – Jeniffer
- 17 younger
18 years old – Frank
*2
36 years old – Jack
-35 younger
1 year old – Karen

3. Look for patterns

- This strategy is a way to organize data presented in a problem and allows students to
discover relationships and patterns among data
Example: Carol has written a number pattern that begins with 1, 3, 6, 10, 15. If she
continues this pattern, what are the next four numbers in her pattern?
The pattern for this is adding counting numbers starting from 2
- 1+2 =3 - 15+6 =21
- 3+3 =6 - 21+7 =28
- 6+4 =10 - 28+8 =36
- 10+5 =15 - 36+9 =45
4. Act it out
- A strategy in which students physically act out what is taking place in a word problem.
Example: The figure below shows 9 matchsticks arranged as an equilateral triangle. Rearrange
exactly 5 of the matchsticks to form 5 equilateral triangles, without leaving any stray
matchsticks.
5. Solve a simpler problem
- you can use this strategy when you problem solve any situation that seems too
complicated to do in one step. In other words, it may require multiple operations, or you
may have to break down the problem to be able to solve it.
Example: How many even numbers are there between 2 and 50?

2-10 11-20 21-30 31-40 41-50

23
4 5 5 5 4

6. Eliminate possibilities
- A strategy in which students remove possible answers until the correct answer remains.
Example: I’m thinking of a number. The number is odd. It is more than 1 but less than 100.It
is greater than 20. It is less than 5 times 7. The sum of the digits is 7. It is evenly divisible by
5. What is the number?
 20 > x < 35
 Sum of digits = 7
 Divisible by 5
= X is number 25

7. Make an orderly list

- This strategy can be used to help you sort out the information you have been given in
the problem. Once the information has been sorted then you can look at all of the
possibilities for the solution and then attempt to solve the problem more easily.
Example: List the 4-digit numbers that can be written using each of 1, 3, 5, and 7 once and
only once.

1357 3157 5137 7135

1375 3175 5173 7153
1537 3517 5317 7315
1573 3571 5371 7351
 1735 3715 5713 7513
1753 3751 5713 7531

8. Draw a picture or diagram

- Creating a diagram can help you to picture the problem and find the solution. To Create
a Diagram, read the problem carefully and draw the information that has been given to
you. Work out the answer from the diagram you have drawn.
Example: Kristin bought a red sweater, blue sweater, and a green sweater. She also bought
a pair of jeans and a pair of tan pants. How man outfits can she make?

She can make 6 outfits.

9. Use a table
- Making and using a table is a good way to sort out and organize the information that you
have been given in the question. You can then clearly see the information which will help
lead you to the correct solution.
Example: An ice cream shop has just opened and has a range of 5 ice cream flavors for
customers to choose from. There is also a choice of 3 different toppings. How many different
one-flavor, one-topping combinations can customers choose from?

A B C
1 1A 1B 1C
2 2A 2B 2C
3 3A 3B 3C
4 4A 4B 4C
5 5A 5B 5C

15 combinations
 COUNTING TECHNIQUES

 Getting outcome fully= Multiply the number of choices/options to get the outcome.
1. Parallel = n!
2. Taken r at a time = n!/n-r!
3. Round = n-1!
4. Multiple kind identical = n!/n!(n-r!)
5. One kind Identical = n!/ no. of the repeated object. Usually letter
 Combinations if the kind or rankings is not shown

4 letter password using English Plate number includes 3 letters and

alphabet 4 numbers
Allowed repetition Allows repetition
26 letters × 4 letter 26×26×26×10×10×10×10
Without repetition Without repetition
26 × 25 × 24 × 23 26×25×24×10×9×8×7

Playing cards 52 (without joker) A Jueteng/STL 40 numbers, 2

2-10 J Q K numbers
DCSH Repetition
1 number 40×40
9×4
Red card Lotto 6/45 6/42 6/55
26 42×41×40×39×38×37
Black card and rolling a die 55×54×53×52×51
26×6
PERMUTATION
- It is an arrangement of things in a definite order or the ordered arrangement of objects
without allowing repetitions among the objects.
- Repetition is not allowed.
Permutation with Identical Objects
Circular Permutation
- The number of ways to arrange n distinct objects along a fixed circle is
Pn=(n-1)!.
- The number is (n-1)! instead of the usual factorial n! since all cyclic permutations of
objects are equivalent because the circle can be rotated.

COMBINATION
- A combination is a selection made from a group of items without regard to their order.
- A combination is a grouping of items in which order does not matter. There are generally
fewer ways to select items when order doesn't matter. For example, there are 6 ways to
order 3 items, but they are all the same combination:
 PROBABILITY
- Chance/possibility/probability of an event happening = no. of possible ways it can
happen/ total no. of outcomes
- Probability is Just a Guide
- The probability of a simple event is a ratio of the number of favorable outcomes for the
event to the total number of possible outcomes of the event.
Experiment Or Trial
- an action where the result is uncertain.
- Tossing a coin, throwing dice, seeing what pizza people choose
- are all examples of experiments.
Sample Space
- ALL the possible outcomes of an experiment
- Example: choosing a card from a deck
- Sample Space is all 52 possible cards:
- {Ace of Hearts, 2 of Hearts, etc... }
Sample Point
- just one of the possible outcomes
- Example: Deck of Cards
 - the 5 of Clubs is a sample point, the King of Hearts is a sample point. "King" is not a
sample point. As there are 4 Kings that is 4 different sample points.
Event
- a single result of an experiment is like a sample point plus an experiment or trial
- Getting a Tail when tossing a coin is an event
- Rolling a "5" is an event.
- Choosing a "King" from a deck of cards (any of the 4) is an event
- Rolling an "even number" (2, 4 or 6) is also an event
How likely is something to happen

tossing a coin
Sample Space
Heads or tails

Possible outcomes
6
Sample space
123456

1.Queen of Hearts  - sample point

2. Head - sample point
3. 20%  - probability
4. Left , Right - sample space
5. Ace of Spades - sample point
6. Rolling an even number (2, 4 or 6) - event
7. Flipping a 5-peso coin five times - experiment
8. Getting a head in a single toss of coin - event
9. Choosing an ACE from a deck of standard cards – event
_____ 1. Ear Darenz is asked to choose a day from a week. What is the probability of choosing
a day which starts with S? Ans: 2/7
_____ 2. Choosing a month from a year, what is the probability of selecting a month with 31
days? Ans: 7/12
_____ 3 . If a letter is chosen at random from the word PERSEVERANCE, what is the
probability that the letter chosen is E? Ans: 4/12 = 1/3
_____4. If one letter is chosen at random from the word TRUSTWORTHY, what is the
probability that the letter chosen is a consonant? Ans: 9/11
_____ 5. The sides of a cube are numbered 11 to 16. If Jan Renz rolled the cube once, what is
the probability of rolling a composite number? Ans: 4/6 = 2/3
_____ 6. A box contains 7 red balls, 5 orange balls, 4 yellow balls, 6 green balls and 3 blue
balls. What is the probability of drawing out an orange ball? Ans: 5/25 = 1/5
_____7. Of the 45 students in a class, 25 are boys. If a student is selected at random for a field
trip, what is the probability of selecting a girl? Ans: 20/45 = 4/9
_____ 8. Two fair coins are tossed simultaneously, what is the probability of showing tail (T) first
and head (H) next? Ans: 1/4
_____ 9. A spinner is divided equally and numbered as follows: 1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 4, 1, 1, 2, 4, 1,2, 3,
4, 1, 2. What is the probability that the pointer will stop at an even prime? Ans: 4/16 = 1/4
_____ 10. What is the probability of getting an 8 from a deck of 52 cards? Ans: 4/52 = 1/13

Explanation:
Experiment: Choosing a letter from the word Perseverance
Sample Space: PERSVRANC
Event: Choosing an E from the word Perseverance
Experiment:
Sample Space: 11-16
Event: Composite no. 12, 14, 15, 16
6. 5/25 or 1/5
7. 20/45 or 4/9
8. 1/2×1/2 = 1/4
9. 4/16 or 1/4
Even prime= 2
1 is not a prime number
10. 4/52 or 1/13

Probability of Compound Events

- The total outcomes of each event are found by using a tree diagram or by using the
fundamental counting principle.
- Example:
 - At football games, a student concession stand sells sandwiches on either wheat or rye
bread. The sandwiches come with salami, turkey, or ham, and either chips, a brownie, or
fruit. Use a tree diagram to determine the number of possible sandwich combinations.
Using the fundamental counting principle
bread x meat x side
2 x 3 x 3 = 18 outcomes

- A compound event consists of two or more simple events.

Examples:
rolling a die and tossing a penny
spinning a spinner and drawing a card
tossing two dice
tossing two coins

Independent Events

- When the outcome of one event does not affect the outcome of a second event.
- The probability of two independent events is found by multiplying the probability of the first
event by the probability of the second event.
Mutually Exclusive
- Events that cannot occur at the same time .
- Suppose you want to find the probability of rolling a 2 or a 4 on a die. P(2 or 4)
- Since a die cannot show both a 2 and a 4 at the same time, the events are mutually
exclusive.